Bloodborne: The Old Hunters walkthrough and guide

Yharnam beckons once again. Bloodborne’s new – and only – expansion takes players beyond the brink of madness, delving deep into the lore of this Lovecraftian city and serving up a sizeable challenge in the process. If Gascoigne gave you trouble and the Shadow of Yharnam proved too much, you might not be quite ready for what awaits in The Old Hunters, an add-on that introduces new tools, new enemies and new areas.

Even if you’ve got the stomach for the next round of encounters, you might still find the following guide useful as you work your way through the twisting corridors and blood-tinged swamps of The Old Hunters, From Software’s superb farewell to one of 2015’s very best games. We’ll be updating this guide regularly as we claw our way through all of the new content, so keep an eye out for new advice.

On this page

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters – Eye of the Blood-drunk Hunter, Old Hunter Bell, The LeagueAccessing the DLC, joining the League, and taking your first steps inside Hunter’s Nightmare.

Bloodborne – Bloodied Trousers, Winter Lanterns, Rakuyo, Blood RockBag some more items and kill the Winter Lantern creatures as you approach the final fight.

Bloodborne – Orphan of Kos, Great One, Kos Parasite, Coast lampKill the Orphan of Kos boss and light yourself one last lamp.

Bloodborne – Laurence the First Vicar, Milkweed rune, Church Cannon, Beast’s EmbraceLay rest to Laurence the First Vicar and wrap up the last loose ends.

Preparing to enter the Hunter’s Nightmare

Welcome hunter! Welcome once more to Yharnam – land of gothic spires, fabulous hats and endless torment. You can, of course, expect all three (in considerable doses) as you enter From Software’s soul-crushingly tough Bloodborne expansion, The Old Hunters.

To access The Old Hunters, however, you’ll want to be sufficiently prepared. Firstly, at the very least, you’ll need to have defeated Vicar Amelia at the Grand Cathedral and interacted with the altar after the fight. Due to the expansion’s extreme difficulty though, it’s recommended that you progress through as much of the main game as possible before delving into the new content. Even high level hunters are likely to struggle at times!

Retrieving the Eye of the Blood-drunk Hunter / Old Hunter Bell

Once you’ve investigated the altar, Yharnam will be plunged into twilight, unlocking the items needed to access The Hunter’s Nightmare (as the new area is known). To retrieve the items, you’ll first need to return to the Hunter’s Dream. Next, collect the Eye of a Blood-drunk Hunter from the Messengers on the ground at the foot of the steps, close to the Doll’s usual resting spot.

You should also grab the Old Hunter Bell lying just outside the workshop, further up the steps – which will only be visible if you’re carrying at least one Insight. The Old Hunter Bell enables you to summon the help of powerful NPC hunters at specific markers placed around the new content area, at the cost of one Insight per summon.

Locating the Hunter’s Nightmare headstone

There’s one last thing to note here: once you’ve accessed the Hunter’s Nightmare for the first time and illuminated the lamp in the starting area, you’ll be able to fast-travel to it via a brand-new headstone located in the Hunter’s Dream. It can be found at the top of the steps running alongside the Chalice Dungeon headstones – on the right-hand side, just outside the workshop. More locations will be added to the headstone as you progress through the new area.

Joining The League

Before continuing, you should also consider joining Bloodborne’s new guild, known as the League. This will add additional, and extremely helpful, NPC summon points to the new content area.

To enrol in The League, locate the Frontier Headstone in the Hunter’s Dream and warp to the Forbidden Woods. Once you materialise at your destination, make your way inside the windmill to the right. Note that you’ll need to complete the first portion of the Forbidden Woods area in order to access the windmill, as its entrance is locked from the other side.

Inside the building, you’ll spot a man standing against the wall to the right. Speak with him and he’ll introduce himself as Valtr, Master of the League. Agree to join the League and you’ll receive the Impurity Caryll rune. Equipping this rune at the Memory Altar in the Hunter’s Dream will enable you to see additional summon spots while in the Hunter’s Nightmare.

Talk with Valtr again and he’ll tell you about Vermin. When you’ve managed to collect Vermin from a defeated opponent during your travels, you should crush it in your inventory. Once one Vermin has been crushed, return to Valtr in the Forbidden Woods and speak with him again to receive the League Staff weapon and the fancy League Oath gesture. Note that you don’t need to collect Vermin in order to access the Hunter’s Nightmare.

Accessing the Hunter’s Nightmare

When you’re ready to explore the Hunter’s Nightmare, return to the Hunter’s Dream (if need be) and use the Yharnam headstone to make your way back to the Cathedral Ward.

Once you materialise at the lamp, descend the steps ahead and take a left at the bottom. Make your way down the next flight of stairs and turn right when you emerge out into the night air. Approach the lone tree standing behind the gravestones ahead and locate the corpse nearby. When the creature’s hand swings down, let it grab you and – after the cutscene is complete – you’ll be transported to the Hunter’s Nightmare.

– The next part of our walkthrough explains how to start safely exploring Bloodborne’s Hunter’s Nightmare region.